


Something Else

by ChokolatteJedi



Category: Ocean's (Movies), Ocean's Eleven (2001), Ocean's Twelve (2004)
Genre: Other, POV Female Character, Slash Goggles, Yuletide, Yuletide 2009
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-23
Updated: 2009-12-23
Packaged: 2017-10-05 03:15:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/37217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChokolatteJedi/pseuds/ChokolatteJedi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Isabel comes to visit Tess on Christmas Eve.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Something Else

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lab](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lab/gifts).



_"I thought Gwen was a lesbian!"_

"I'm not a lesbian!"

Tess snorted into her red wine, amused as always by the scene. She took another sip and then leaned over to place the glass back on the coffee table. Straitening back up, she tucked her feet beneath herself and leaned against the pile of pillows on the couch armrest.

_"Sunset by the lake; he's very romantic!"_

Tess giggled, but stopped immediately when she heard a hesitant knock. Quickly pausing the movie, she unfolded herself from the couch and padded down the hall to the door.

One peek through the peephole told her everything she needed to know, and she hurried to unlock the door. Leaning against the frame, arms crossed, Tess smirked.

"So you finally figured it out?"

Isabel's mouth dropped open, but a minute later she closed it and nodded miserably. "I did."

"Been driving long?" Tess asked, moving from the doorway.

Isabel entered and brushed snow off her black trench. "Not that long, maybe two or three hours?"

"Not bad," Tess smirked. "I drove five hours to my mother's house the night I realized. Spent an hour crying and then had to drive five hours back to get to work on time."

Isabel offered her a half-smile, but it didn't reach her eyes. Tess understood, and simply gestured at the coat rack. "I'll grab you a glass; just go on through to the living room."

She collected a second wine glass, and, after a moment's hesitation, grabbed the entire bottle, plus a plate of Christmas fudge from one of the girls at the gallery. Tess returned to the living room and found Isabel curled up in one of the armchairs. She poured a glass of wine and handed it to Isabel, smiling when the other woman took it and immediately drank a large gulp.

"So did you just realize it suddenly, or did you see something?" Tess asked, sitting back on the couch.

"I followed Robert," Isabel admitted slowly. "I thought, perhaps, with it being Christmas Eve and all… he might have gone to get something at the last minute. But he headed out to a bar." Isabel took another gulp from her glass.

Tess waited a long moment before prompting, "And?"

"And about ten minutes later Daniel pulled up."

"And you put two and two together," Tess supplied.

"And came up with four," Isabel finished. Another big gulp and her glass was empty. She stared at it for a moment, blankly, before Tess obligingly leaned across the table and handed her the bottle. "So what about you?"

"Actually, it was just before Danny and I split the first time; before he went to prison. I should have realized earlier, I suppose, that whatever they were doing wasn't on the level, but I was blinded by love, I guess."

"But you took him back." It wasn't a question, or at least it wasn't the question she was actually asking, and Tess was strongly reminded of the fact that Isabel had been a detective.

"I did. I took him back, even knowing the truth, because he's still Danny. Deep down, despite what he and Rusty and the guys do, I still love him." Tess looked down at her own glass and realized that it too had become empty.

Isabel obligingly passed her the bottle, popping a chocolate into her mouth. "At first I thought it was because I had been reunited with my father, it was reawakening the thievery side of my brain, but, then… I don't know."

"I know," Tess replied softly. She popped a piece of fudge into her mouth and contemplated the last four years, since she and Danny had gotten back together.

"God! Why do I always have such bad taste in men?" Isabel suddenly burst out. "Why do I always fall for liars and thieves?"

_I only lied about being a thief, and I don't do that anymore._ Danny's words echoed in Tess's mind.

"You're not the only one," Tess said, smiling sadly at Isabel. "Some days I think it just isn't worth the heartache."

"What, falling for them, or staying with them?" There was a note of bitterness in Isabel's voice, and Tess briefly wondered how often Terry had heard the same from her.

"Trying to change them." Tess looked down at her hands, clutching the wine glass desperately. "I don't know if it's worth trying to change them. Maybe we should just accept that there will always be something in their life that they love more than us."

"The job," Isabel interjected.

Tess raised one eyebrow in response, "Yes, the job, and the camaraderie with each other, and that dark side that we just can't understand. They'll always have that, and I wonder if maybe we shouldn't just accept it. Maybe we should look for something else, something of our own, that we can love, too."

Isabel looked ahead, wide-eyed, for a moment, before looking down at her lap. "I guess, I used to feel that way about my job," she admitted softly. She stole a glance at Tess before continuing, "It was hard, though, with Robert, because I always felt as though I was being pulled between him and my work."

"Probably because you were always investigating crimes that he and Danny had committed," Tess added wryly. "Perhaps you need to ban him from coming into your jurisdiction."

Isabel let out a short laugh, "if only that could actually work!"

"If only."

"What about you?"

"Well, fortunately, there isn't much crossover between being an art-curator and being a thief, though I warned Danny that if any of his friends so much as thought of stealing from my gallery I'd turn them in myself."

Isabel burst out laughing, causing Tess to giggle as well. Tess found that she liked the way their voices mingled.

"Jurisdiction or no, I'll book them all for you!" Isabel added.

Still giggling, Tess reached for the wine bottle, only to find that Isabel had the same idea, and their hands brushed lightly as they both pulled back.

"You go first," Isabel offered, grabbing a piece of fudge instead. "It's your wine, after all."

"Yes, but you're the one who just realized the truth," Tess waved her hand nonchalantly. "I've known for almost ten years."

Isabel nodded in agreement and poured the last of the wine into her glass. "Well, that's true." She took a sip. "Does it ever get easier?"

Tess thought back, to driving cross-country with Rusty, to picking out a house, again, with Danny. To seeing Terry again for the first time, to her own time in jail, and to too many Christmas Eves and other occasions alone. "No. No, it really doesn't."

Isabel sighed and drained the rest of her glass in one gulp. She then got up, crossed the room, and plonked down onto the couch beside Tess, her crossed legs just inches away from Tess's knees. "Well then we might as well enjoy each other's company while we wait."

Tess nodded, smiling slightly. Her own words echoed back in her ears, and she wondered if perhaps she had found another person that she could care about. Perhaps she had found her _something else._

**Author's Note:**

> Movie quotes are from _28 Days_.


End file.
